Worst experience with mental health services ever

Elmana

Member

Well I dont have a clue where to begin but I really need some advice atm.

So after waiting about six months for an appointment with a psychiatrist I finally got one last week. Long story short, my problems are self harm, thinking about suicide everyday, massive mood swings everyday and some other things that stop me from leaving the house and socialising. I was also on the waiting list for some kind of psychological therapy, as I had been referred by a family therapist that I was seeing last year.

Now, I think I might as well off never seen this psychiatrist. He's actually done me more harm then good So, I get to the appointment with my partner for support and this psych made me feel so uncomfortable I actually wanted to get up and leave.
Some of the things he kept doing were not letting me speak. I try to tell him my problems and he'd say I'll come to that latter. Which he never did. Then at one point he said, you seem to be getting better as your getting older. I was really confused by this statement and replied saying im not actually ?? He then just said, oh okay. It was like he was putting words in my mouth all the time. I never mentioned that I got better infact I told him Ive deteriorated. When I said I'd like to live how I used to, you know socialising and going out the house again, he said well thats because you have a child now so thats why your life changed. Seriously?? I got a bit offended at that point and told him I know the difference between being a mum and being someone who thinks about dying everyday. It's not fair to assume that my problems are related to having a child and not to do with my mental health. After telling him about my child abuse (physical, emotional and child neglect by my mum) and how that effected me as an adult he gave me a ten min lecture about seeing things from different points of view which I didnt really understand what he was trying to say. When I get overwhelmed my brain shuts down and that definitely started happening I wasn't processing what he saying because he was being so dismissive he was just making me feel like I was wasting his time. He also said all my problems were due to personality traits, I dont have a clue what that means?

I told him that allot of different mental health professionals think I really need long term therapy to discuss my past as I have tried cbt in the past but it didnt work. Well guess what he did. He referred me back to cbt and discharged me saying Im not at risk so he cant help me. He told me though in my appointment he'd reffer me to psychological therapy but I found out the next day he'd referred me to cbt instead. I rang the clinic to find out whats happened they said he'd get back to me but he hasn't. He didnt give me any diagnosis or even mention what could be wrong.

I had been waiting for the long term psychological therapy for over a year and now im not on their waiting list anymore after this appointment. I feel even more suicidal now after this as it feels like there's no help for me. Is there anything I can do or will I have to wait over a year again just for a second opinion ?

Elmana

Member

Well I've seen a psychiatrist before for similar reasons I posted but because all my probs intensified I was told by my previous therapist he suspects I might have bpd or complex pstd but I need to see a pdoc for the diagnosis and the right therapy. I was hoping to get referred to I think it's called psychodynamic therapy by the psych to help me move up on the list, which would help with dealing with my past and I've been told that dbt is really good for the problems i face . I just want to get better so I can take my son to play group and stuff like that. I've done cbt before but it didn't help at all so I was trying to avoid doing it again

mrspoon

Well-known member

I can tell you having experienced psychodynamic therapy ,it involves you basically being told to talk for 50 minutes while the therapist barely says a word ,maybe sums up what you have spoken about at the end,you can talk about anything. They also, well mine did, stare at me ,while I was talking. And I had no clue what I was meant to be saying, and it was like he wanted me to answer a question and I didn't know what the question was.In the end I was told that was completely the wrong therapy approach. Unfortunately i didn't get any real assessment done of my mental health by the NHS despite being under services from some time, until they decided because I gave an answer to their question about why I didn't have a TV at home,which they didn't like and they also decided I was a risk to others.

I have similar diagnosis to you, pd, complex trauma, and the assessment was not done by a psychiatrist but by a clinical psychologist. After assessing me I was told schema therapy would be most suitable rather than DBT. ,because my problems are caused by my strange childhood. If you are looking for different therapy to CBT, you really need to be referred by the psychiatrist to a clinical psychologist who can assess you.

It seems to me with anything to do with personality difficulties you either get ignored or you do get support, in fact lots of support but you are treated akin to a psychopath.

Elmana

Member

Thanks for sharing your experience with me, it's really helpful, and yeh I feel like I'm not going to get anything other than cbt without a referral. But I've been really put off by this psych. As you probably know it's not easy talking about childhood abuse and our problems and to be dismissed renenforced my belief that I'm not worth their time. It really seems like the whole mental health service doesn't function at times when it's really should and needs to

Yoona~939

Well-known member

I wanted to reply because I can really sympathise with you, I have written about the mental health system failing and I have read far too many negative experiences with it, it's heartbreaking and makes me so angry. I was actually thinking about this today, and I kind of daydreamed about having a go at whoever I'm sent to talk to at my appointment on the 9th.

Psychiatrists have always been awful, in my own experience, and I refuse to see one anymore. A psychologist might be better at identifying your individual struggles and needs, but they can send you for treatments that are all wrong for you, as well. If you can, I think you should try to be firm about your past experience with CBT and your wish to not attempt it all over again. I've had CBT twice, and although it's their favourite treatment, it doesn't work for everyone, and wasn't right for me either. I also would like some form of therapy that focuses on childhood, what I call the "roots." I was sent for psychodynamic therapy, which sounded perfect, and I started it last summer; but the therapist I was given talked about nothing besides my chronic reflux, which worsened last year, as did all my symptoms, so every single session for about 5 or 6 weeks was spent talking about whether or not I can have sauce and vinegar on my dinner, and how it can't possibly be celiac disease because I don't have diarrhea. I eventually quit, and my illness stopped me getting out the house anyway, which they hated! They are so annoyed at me for having my illness.

I feel like I have hijacked your thread with my waffling, sorry! I am just very angry with the whole system and I understand your frustration and the hopelessness and depression that comes from it. Try to tell them you don't want CBT again, if you can, and be firm about what you do want. I feel abandoned by the system, too. It actually makes me cry.

Elmana

Member

Don't worry you haven't hijacked my thread I'm more than happy to hear about what you've gone through and I'm really shocked at how many people seem to go through the same thing! It sounds like they don't care about our mental health problems and just try to divert our attention to other issues in our lives. I wonder if it's because they want to keep the numbers down and keep out as many people as possible. But it is really frustrating because we don't have anywhere else to turn to.

I'm loosing faith in everything if I'm honest, problem is I just know that I'm gonna end up in a slump sooner or later because of this and every time is just reinforcing everything I think about life which is I'm not cut out for it. Only thing ive got is my son, literally no family to rely on so I have to stay strong for him. It's not easy though and I feel like I'm on my last leg

I hope your appointment goes well for you and thanks for taking the time to listen, I'll definately take your advise about being firm in not doing cbt again! 💗💗

Mayflower7

Well-known member

Hi,
Welcome to the forum, I'm really sorry you've experienced such poor service.
You were really brave sharing your story, and he was patronising.
Having to wait six months is terrible.
I'd ask for a second opinion so you can get an diagnosis and treatment.
Good luck and take care

Well-known member

Elmana

Member

Thank you guys, I really appreciate the support , you've all been much more helpful than anyone else I've spoken to over this past week and you've given me the courage to try and get the right treatment for me xx

Cazcat

Well-known member

Hi, sorry that you have had such a bad experience. My experience with PTSD was that the first psychologist I saw (who went down the talking therapy route) made things 100x worse. I later read that talking therapies such as psychodynamic therapy are not reccommended for PTSD as they can make things worse. In the NICE guidelines for PTSD it reccomends only 2 treatments, trauma based CBT and EMDR and recommends that if one doesn't work you should be offered the other. Just wondering if this is why the psychiatrist has taken you off the list for psychodynamic therapy? In any case it is not good that they have not explained this properly, though I know exactly what you mean about shutting down when things get too much and not being able to take in information too. That's how I spent most of my sessions with that psychologist. The others who I've seen were much better. I ended up having a treatment similar to EMDR which was really helpful.

Poppy2014

Well-known member

I gave BPD and cPTSD following an abusive childhood.
I think I must be among the few that met a good psych.
However like many folks CBT is of no use to me and she recommended CAT (cognitive analytical therapy) which is much more focused on how history affects today.
I can honestly say it was a godsend and the right therapy. Having to talk and learning to talk was exactly what I needed.
It's a psychological therapy which is only offered by a few places but may be worth asking for.
Good luck

H

haila nguyen

Active member

Yeah I think that has happened to a lot of people. I had pretty bad experience with mental health services as well. I didn't put up with it and since I moved I had to change doctors, and the clinic that I went to. I always reach the Department of Mental health if I had any real problems. They should be able to give you what you need for appointments, and answer any questions that you have. I hope this helps you and don't let the struggle bother you too much. I am sure a lot of ppl have been through the same issues. There are way too many people that come into a clinic, and honestly not enough doctors available to treating patients.

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